8 Phosphate Fuel Cell Manufacturers in 2024
This section provides an overview for phosphate fuel cells as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 8 phosphate fuel cell manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked phosphate fuel cell companies as of April, 2024: 1.HyAxiom, Inc., 2.UltraCell LLC, 3.Bloom Energy.
Table of Contents
What Is a Phosphate Fuel Cell?
A phosphate fuel cell is a type of fuel cell that employs an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid as its electrolyte. This technology uses hydrogen, often derived from reforming city or LP gas, to generate electricity. Developed in the 1970s, phosphate fuel cells stand out for their performance and reliability among various fuel cell types.
However, they face challenges such as lower efficiency per unit volume compared to other fuel cell technologies and higher costs due to platinum catalyst usage. Moreover, operating at temperatures around 200°C, phosphate fuel cells must be monitored for carbon monoxide poisoning at lower temperatures.
Uses of Phosphate Fuel Cells
Known for their reliability and durability, phosphate fuel cells have found applications in hospitals, hotels, office buildings, and sewage treatment plants, serving primarily as stationary power sources. These systems, comprising the fuel cell stack, an inverter, a reformer, a cooling system, and a control unit, efficiently convert reformed hydrogen from city gas or industrial byproducts into electricity.
Benefitting from high-temperature operation, many systems integrate cogeneration to utilize waste heat for heating purposes, promising further cost reductions by leveraging hydrogen byproducts from various plants. Notably, their ability to switch gas sources enhances resilience against supply disruptions during disasters.
Principle of Phosphate Fuel Cells
Phosphate fuel cells generate electricity by converting the chemical reaction of hydrogen oxidation into water. This process involves:
1. Reforming Natural Gas
High-purity hydrogen is produced from city gas through desulfurization, steam reforming, and carbon monoxide oxidation, using catalysts to facilitate reactions and heat from excess hydrogen combustion to drive the endothermic reforming process. Despite carbon monoxide's potential to poison the platinum catalyst, the operation temperature around 200°C allows a higher tolerance for carbon monoxide than in polymer electrolyte fuel cells.
2. Power Generation
Hydrogen is oxidized at the fuel electrode under a platinum catalyst, producing hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons travel through an external circuit to the air electrode, where they combine with oxygen and hydrogen ions to form water, generating electric power. To achieve the voltage levels necessary for practical applications, multiple cells are stacked.
Composition of Phosphate Fuel Cells
The fuel electrode consists of porous carbon, resistant to phosphoric acid corrosion and permeable to gases. The phosphoric acid solution serves as the electrolyte, sandwiched between fuel and air electrodes, each laden with a platinum catalyst and separated by a separator.
List of 8 Phosphate Fuel Cell Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
Sort by Features
- Default
- Company Size: largest first
- Year Founded: oldest first
- Year Founded: earliest first
Sort by Area
- United States of America
- Germany
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
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Bloom Energy
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Manufacturer Overview
Bloom Energy, established in 2001 and headquartered in San Jose, California, is a manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cell technology. The company manufactures a range of unique products, including solid oxide fuel cells, electrolyzers, and energy servers. These products provide numerous benefits, such as optimal energy efficiency, low emissions, and stable on-site electricity generation. The products find applications across various industries, including data centers, healthcare, manufacturing, and utilities. By offering sustainable and clean energy solutions, it plays a vital role in reducing carbon footprints and ensuring a more sustainable energy future.
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Panasonic Industry Europe GmbH
Fuel Cell
Manufacturer Overview
Panasonic Industry Europe is the European branch of Panasonic, a global manufacturer of electronics and houseware, originally founded in 1918. Panasonic Industry Europe manufactures in 4 categories: components, devices, energy & building, and automation devices & solutions. Components include relays, capacitors, resistors, sensors, switches, connectors, couplers. Devices include wireless connectivity, e-bike systems, motors, compressors, thermal solutions, GPS antennas, as well as electronic materials. Energy & building includes batteries, fuel cells, solar sells, power tools, and home IoT. Automation devices & solutions include sensors for factory automation, industrial motors, laser welding, and more.
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Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
Fuel Cells
Manufacturer Overview
Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., established in 1923 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a manufacturer of electric equipment and offers engineering services. Its products include turbine generators, monitoring systems, power MOSFETs, and food vending machines used in energy, industry, semiconductors, and food fields. The company started manufacturing electrical machinery in 1924, transformers in 1925, and electric fans in 1927. In 1930, it launched the first mercury-vapor rectifier production, which was the first in Japan. In 1933, it started producing expansion circuit breakers and finished Asia’s first 230kV expansion circuit breaker in 1938.
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Ballard Power Systems Inc.
Fuel Cell Stacks
Manufacturer Overview
Ballard Power Systems Inc., founded in 1979 and headquartered in Burnaby, Canada, is a manufacturer specializing in proton exchange membrane fuel cell products. The company's product portfolio includes hydrogen fuel cell powertrain integration solutions such as heavy duty modules, marine systems, stationary power, and more. Its fuel cell technology is an environmentally clean electrochemical device that combines hydrogen fuel with oxygen from the air to generate electricity. The company serves various markets, including heavy-duty handling, material handling, stationary power generation, automotive, and others.
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SFC Energy AG
fuel cells
Company Overview
SFC Energy AG, established in 2000 and based in Brunnthal, Germany, is a manufacturer and supplier of hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cells designed for both stationary and mobile hybrid power solutions. The company product lineup includes offerings like the EFOY Hydrogen Fuel Cell 2.5, EFOY Pro fuel, EFOY fuel cells, SFC Energy, and SFC Power Manager 3G. These power solutions are instrumental in providing efficient electrical energy for a wide range of applications, including measuring and early warning stations, defense systems, traffic monitoring, mobile homes, yachts, and various other sectors.
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Doosan Fuel Cell Co., Ltd.
PureCell Model 400
Company Overview
Doosan Fuel Cell Co., Ltd., established in 2014 and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, specializes in manufacturing environment-friendly fuel cells with high efficiency for power generation. The company's product range includes the PureCell M400 NG, PureCell M400 Hydrogen, and PureCell M400 LPG/NG Dual. These products find applications in power generation facilities, primarily used as fuel cell mains. The company also offers long-term maintenance and repair services. It is actively involved in the design of fuel cell systems, the development of controllers, fuel pretreatment systems, and the development of stack and peripheral devices.
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Phosphate Fuel Cell Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Ranking as of April 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HyAxiom, Inc. |
34.8%
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| 2 | UltraCell LLC |
17.4%
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| 3 | Bloom Energy |
17.4%
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| 4 | SFC Energy AG |
8.7%
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| 5 | Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. |
8.7%
|
| 6 | Doosan Fuel Cell Co., Ltd. |
4.3%
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| 7 | Ballard Power Systems Inc. |
4.3%
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| 8 | Panasonic Industry Europe GmbH |
4.3%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the phosphate fuel cell page as of April 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
- Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.: 27,123
Newly Established Company
- Doosan Fuel Cell Co., Ltd.: 2014 (10 years ago)
- UltraCell LLC: 2002 (22 years ago)
- SFC Energy AG: 2000 (24 years ago)
Company with a History
- Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.: 1923 (101 years ago)
- HyAxiom, Inc.: 1960 (64 years ago)
- Bloom Energy: 1960 (64 years ago)
Phosphate Fuel Cell Manufacturers in United States
*Including some distributors, etc.
Global Distribution of Phosphate Fuel Cell Manufacturers by Country
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
United States of America
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3 | 42.9% |
Germany
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2 | 28.6% |
|
Japan
|
1 | 14.3% |
Republic of Korea
|
1 | 14.3% |
